Viewers of The Next Generation started watching at different points in their Trek fandom -- for some, it was their first exposure to Star Trek, while other "legacy" Trekkies came to it after The Original Series and movies featuring Captain James T. Kirk and his crew. Guest co-host Andi VanderKolk, aka @FirstTimeTrek, joins Daniel, Darren, and Phillip in discussing how knowledge of TOS enhances the TNG viewing experience.

Earl Grey explores whether it makes a difference if you discovered the character of Ambassador Sarek in the Next Gen episode "Sarek" without first seeing TOS "Journey to Babel." Does the appearance of Scotty ("Relics") and Spock ("Unification, Parts 1 and 2") have meaning without first experiencing the adventures of the NCC-1701 (no bloody A, B, C, or D!). We discuss "copy and paste" episodes like "The Naked Now" compared to "The Naked Time," and the use of Star Trek: Phase II scripts in TNG. Grab your copy of the 1966-1969 series, and explore how TOS is a required prerequisite for TNG.

HostsDaniel Proulx, Phillip Gilfus, & Darren Moser

GuestAndi VanderKolk

Editor / ProducerDarren Moser

Executive ProducersNorman C. Lao, Matthew Rushing, & C Bryan Jones

Production Manager

Richard Marquez

Content Manager

Will Nguyen

ChaptersHow Important is Knowing the Backstory? (00:08:32)McCoy on Encounter at Farpoint (00:17:22)Scotty / Relics (00:22:08)Spock / Sarek (00:30:44)The Naked Now (00:48:23)Where No One Has Gone Before (00:53:44)

Just as in contemporary times, war can take many forms. Star Trek: The Next Generation did not feature a primary war akin to those stories featured in Deep Space Nine or Enterprise, however many enemies confronted Captain Picard and his crew. The Romulan Empire posed a continuing threat to the United Federation of Planets that stood on the brink of war ("The Defector"), the results of the off-screen Cardassian War became a source of many episodes ("The Wounded," "Chain of Command, Parts 1 and 2," "Journey's End," and "Preemptive Strike"), and the Borg presented a new form of warfare heretofore unknown to the 24th Century ("I, Borg" and "Descent, Parts 1 and 2").

Phillip, Daniel, and Darren explore whether there are modern parallels to the "post-Wolf 359" era of TNG, how its combat/conflict compares to other Trek series, and how the serious potential for galactic war was continuously tackled by the flagship U.S.S. Enterprise. Come sing a mournful ballad of "The Minstrel Boy" and join Earl Grey as they discuss the role of war in Next Gen.

Time travel and Star Trek go hand-in-glove, so it was no surprise that The Next Generation crew had several "timey-wimey" adventures in its seven years on television and in the feature films. Darren, Daniel, and Phillip go "OUTATIME" in this episode, exploring episodes including "Timescape," "Cause and Effect," "Time Squared," "Time's Arrow, Parts 1 and 2," and Star Trek: First Contact.

The Earl Grey trio break down all the times Captain Jean-Luc Picard would have been visited by the laugh-a-minute members of the Federation's Temporal Investigations unit with TNG's experiences with time loops, temporal anomalies, and Q's TARDIS-like powers. Prepare to experience a "Quantum Leap" of traveling across the space-time continuum with the Enterprise-D 's "Excellent Adventure"as they try to avoid predestination-paradoxes, and enjoy this episode about TNG and time travel.

The Next Generation often reached back to its early seasons to develop later stories, from the season one episode "Datalore" leading to season five's "Silicon Avatar" and season one's "The Battle" continuing all the way to season seven's "Bloodlines." In season six, an entire episode was devoted to a single story Captain Jean-Luc Picard shared with a young Wesley Crusher in the season two episode "Samaritan Snare."

In "Tapestry," Q appears to a surprised Picard who has "died" due to his artificial heart, and allows Jean-Luc to "Back to the Future" to his young, wild, and wreckless past. Daniel, Darren, and Phillip provide commentary for this episode, debating the reality of Picard's experience, how they wished Nausicaans made more appearance throughout Trek, and how the evolution of Starfleet uniforms fit into the in-universe timeline. Prepare to get drinks thrown in your face by "handsome" people as Earl Grey provides commentary to the episode "Tapestry."